Ravai Stars For Bordeaux
The former Nadroga front rower continued his impressive performance after the Rugby World Cup and showed his strength and speed to outclass the La Rochelle defence.
Tuesday 24 December 2019 | 12:27
Peni Ravai in action for Union Bordeaux-Begles against La Rochelle in the French Top 14 competition.
Fiji Airways Flying Fijians prop Peni Ravai scored the winning try for the Bordeaux-Begles as they La Rochelle 20-15 to move to the top of the French Top 14 table yesterday.
The former Nadroga front rower continued his impressive performance after the Rugby World Cup and showed his strength and speed to outclass the La Rochelle defence.
Bordeaux outclassed the Victor Vito-captained La-Rochelle in front of more than 38,000 crowd at the Matmut Atlantique stadium in wet, greasy conditions.
Matthieu Jalibert kicked five penalties for the home side, while Jules Plisson booted five of his own for La Rochelle.
The result, allied with previous leader Lyon’s 29-12 defeat by Castres on Saturday, saw Bordeaux move to the league’s number one spot for the first time in the club’s history.
Bordeaux coach Christophe Urios said the win is a perfect gift for him and the team.
“You could call that a perfect afternoon,” he said
“Last year, Bordeaux handed me the worst Christmas of my life by winning at Castres (where he was coach). Now I’m going to have a very happy Christmas thanks to Bordeaux.”
Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu added to top the French Top 14 league is totally a different experience for the team.
“To be top of the table is always symbolic, notably midway through the season,” he said.
“But we didn’t talk about it. Instead we wanted to remain unbeaten at home.”
Edited by Sheldon Chanel
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